The family-owned business sued the NFL claiming they restricted competition and violated antitrust laws by acting as one entity rather than 32 independently-owned teams.

The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of American Needle, a ruling with significant ramifications for other sports ventures.

As Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his decision, “Decisions by NFL teams to license their separately-owned trademarks collectively and to only one vendor are decisions that deprive the marketplace of…actual or potential competition.”